


Wake Up In A New Star System Every Morning

by Xenopolitan



Series: Planet Rush [1]
Category: Fenoxo, Planet Rush
Genre: Experimental, Multi, What am I doing, let's see how this works
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-04-16 06:32:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4614810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenopolitan/pseuds/Xenopolitan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enormous interstellar portals called warp gates are released out into space, and every couple centuries or so a batch of them is brought online all at once. This makes a slew of new star systems and planets accessible all at once, an event known as a Planet Rush. Multitrillionaire Victor Steele made his fortune during the thirteenth Rush. Two hundred years later, his daughter Ziann must prove herself worthy of taking over his company by participating in the fourteenth Rush. This is her story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Out Into the Wild Whatever

          My watch says 6:45 AM, and given that there’s no star near the space station I'm on, I've got to believe it. 48 hours ago, my father was alive. 36 hours ago, I received news of his death. 24 hours ago, I attended his funeral, and 12 hours ago, I read his will, learning that he wanted me to participate in the Rush, a massive scramble to assess and take advantage of the inhabitants and resources of the latest batch of star systems the warp gates had accessed, in order to prove myself worthy of inheriting Steele Tech, one of the biggest corporations in the galaxy. Currently, I'm on Tavros Station, which my father had bought out to provide me a safe place to park ships and recuperate at. Unfortunately, 15 minutes ago I learned that my snotty cousin Jill was out to claim the probes Victor had sent to provide proof that I had fully explored the fruits of the Rush. And I can't be having with that, can I?

         I step out of the Incite, my personal spaceship, onto the humid surface of the jungle planet Mhen’ga, stretching my sore limbs after the 10-hour flight. This is where the first probe is supposed to be, and no aliens, pirates, or jerkass cousins are gonna keep me from getting to it. I hurry through Esbeth, the only town on this muggy backwater, hoping to get the job done quick as possible. At the entrance to the jungle I pause, thinking about it, and I remember how my father lived, and what he enjoyed, and I realize that he'd want me to live, to experience, and not to just rush on through. Turning on my heel, I make a beeline for what looks like the only bar in town, “Burt’s Badass Mead Hall”. Well, any port in a storm.

          I stumble and weave through the jungle, holding my machete upside down, bouncing off nearby trees. I may be a tiny bit smashed, I admit to myself. But Ziann Steele can’t be slowed down by nine glasses of mead! Ziann Steele is invincible! Ziann Steele needs to throw up! After feeding a nearby bush with the contents of her stomach, I straighten up woozily, wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, and looks around.I am too drunk to be this deep in the jungle. Checking my wrist-com to reorientate myself, I head back in the direction of Esbeth, only to hear a long, rattling hiss from behind me. A sibilant voice whispers “Hello, offworlder…”


	2. A Snake In My Boot

                Hanging from the jungle canopy upside down is an odd creature, feline humanoid from the waist up, and enormous serpent from the waist down. Despite it being oriented in a strange direction,I see the broad, predatory grin and hungry, slit-pupiled eyes of the thing, and my heart sinks. I'm to drunk to get in a fight with the local flavor. I step backward while simultaneously drawing my machete. My wristcom beeps (and far too loudly for my current tastes), notifying me that this is a Naleen, the apex predator of this area. "So you already know about us, offworlder?" the Naleen purrs. "Then you know that here, the strong take what they want. And what I want...is  _you!_ " The Naleen leaps at me suddenly, uncoiling in a tide of green-scaled flesh and falling upon me. I roll to the side and take a swing at the Naleen, only for her huge, nasty-looking claws to deflect it. We dance around for a little bit longer, and my drunken bobbing and swaying is actually helping me to dodge. Finally, I manage to strike her chin with the butt of my pistol, and she falls to the ground, groaning in pain. "You win this time, offworlder. Don't get used to it." The battered Naleen blows me a kiss and vanishes into the undergrowth before I can do anything, leaving behind a bundle of drab maroon leaves. I shrug and scoop them up, making my way back to town. I stumble up to the landing platfrom, enter my ship and collapse into my bunk.

               I wake up fully dressed onboard the  _Incite,_ feeling less like an intrepid adventurer, and more like a piece of rotting industrial carpet. I've a headache bigger than the engine of this ship, and last night's little scuffle left me with three long, shallow cuts along my ribs. Muttering about lousy stupid cat-snakes under my breath, I exit the ship and climb up on top of it to get a better signal for my wristcom. After some beeping and whirring, the little computer lets me know that it's detected the probe on the other side of the Void-damned jungle, in the thickest and spookiest part to boot. I let out a frustrated puff of air, climb down of the ship, and take a much-needed shower before heading off into the jungle. 


	3. Too Many Arms

The probe, a vaguely oblong matte black block with spindly silver dishes extending from the sides, lies nestled in the somewhat burned branches of a hideous, baobab-like uthra tree just ahead. That's the good news. The bad news is that Jill Frickin' Steele, my jerkass cousin, is already at the probe. The worse news is that her bodyguard, a hulking Neanderthal of an ausar with four arms and wolf ears is right next to her, and he's armed to his yellowed canine teeth. I draw my gun and machete, and step into the grove. Jill turns, an expression of shock on her infuriatingly perfect features. "Ziann?! How did you find me?" I grin insolently, cocking my head sideways. "Why Jill, I just followed the scent of whiny cheater. You absolutely reek of it." Jill snarls and takes a step forward. "You worthless little ingrate! Dane! Teach this rat a lesson." The hulk steps forward, unsheathing two crackling, electrified sabers from his back, and drawing identical hammer pistols from his hips.

Insects buzz and jungle beasts chirp in the undergrowth. Birds fly overhead. And I leap and dodge, taunting Dane the entire time. His arrogant confidence at the beginning of the fight has devolved into snarling, frustrated rage as he tries to land a hit on me. My weapons are inferior to his, but his muscle mass and power armor slow him down considerably, and I'm faster than a crackhead mosquito. I pick and slash at him, mocking him relentlessly. With a vicious, completely inhuman snarl, the ausar mercenary charges forward, blades at the ready...and gets them lodged in a tree like a giant nerd. While he's huffing and puffing and trying to dislodge his sabers from the tree, I take the opportunity to kick him in the crotch from behind. What? I'm a smuggler, not a "Rules-Following Honor Person". 

Dane falls on his ass, breathing hard. I advance towards him, pistol at the ready, when I hear a deep bass hum form behind me. I turn around to see Jill pilot her ship towards us, opening fire. While I'm capering and dodging like a court jester, she picks Dane up and takes off. I fire off a few half-hearted shots at the departing vessel, to no real use. At least she left behind the probe...and one of Dane's lightning sabers! Score! I grab the saber, download the coordinates from the probe, and head back to town. Ziann 1, Jill 0. This is a good day.


	4. Apparently, Space Pirates Are Still A Thing

According to the  _Incite's_ navigation systems, it's another eight hours of flying between me and the next planet on the list, Tarkus. Letting out a deep sigh, I kick my feet up onto the dashboard and cue up some reality trash to ignore on my Codex to help while away the next few hours in dead space.

A sudden, harsh beeping wakes me from my impromptu nap. Blinking away sleep, I turn to the source of the noise, my emergency signal receiver. The screen reads, "Mayday! Mayday! This is the  _Phoenix!_ We're taking heavy fire, please assist!" I lock my coordinates onto the distress signal and head into the fray.

I soon come upon the ship in question, a middling cargo freighter covered in plasma burns and slug scars, taking fire from a vicious little Black Void pirate cruiser loaded with weapon turrets. I don an atmospheric suit and take a heart-stopping zero-gravity leap from my airlock to the  _Phoenix's,_ slamming face-first into the hull. Graceful. As. Hell. I regain my wits and duck into the port, sealing it behind me. Time to see what's going on here.

The ship's AI, Valeria, guided me through a maze of puzzle-locks to reactivate the shield system, buying us enough time to fend off the boarders. I run for the cargo bay, right into a squad of Void operatives, all in their signature black-and-red battle-plating, all armed to the helmet filters. There are cat-eared kaithrit, long-limbed samarin, horned dzaan, and even a six-legged leithan complete with plasma minigun. Grumbling under my breath, I power up my shield, draw pistol and saber, and attack.

What I hadn't noticed before leaping in was a figure sprawled on the deck behind the pirates, badly wounded but still managing to fire off her pistol at the mob. With her help, I manage to dodge the fire and grenades long enough to finish the last of the gang. Surrounded by dead and unconscious pirates, I offer my hand to the wounded girl. She introduces herself as Saendra en Illya, captain of the  _Phoenix._  "Thanks for your help, hero. If you hadn't shown up, they wouldn't have to bury me, only redecorate over the walls. I owe ya one. Stop by Tavros sometime and I'll stand you a drink." I wish her luck and cross back over to my ship, finishing the long ride to Tarkus. Time for Ziann's Magical Mystery Tour, Part II.


	5. Lousy Friggin Rust Monsters

I forgot that I had been sitting down for six hours when I landed on Tarkus and left my ship, so the locals's first impression of me was me stumbling out the airlock and landing on a pile of raskvel, the diminutive lizard-like denizens of this planet. Great job, Ziann. Just...stellar. Recovering from my demonstration of exquisite grace, I sign the visitor's paperwork and stride through the cavernous halls of Novahome, the raskvel's junk city. The only way down from the hanger is a spiraling metal ramp crudely labelled "Starewell". Shaking my head, I make my way down the "starewell" and into the main thoroughfare of the city. 

Raskvel, the biggest reaching a mighty 4'6", crowd around me, chattering and laughing, shoving each other around, carrying pieces of wreckage and scrap. Mixed in with the little lizardfolk are enormous chitinous brutes with long tails and feathery antennae, given a wide berth by anyone carrying metal, as well as assorted offworlders, no doubt Rushers looking to make their fortunes on this gigantic junkpile of a planet. My Codex beeps with new information, letting me know that the giant beetle-folk are sydians, aka "rust monsters", who live on metal that they decay with their bodily secretions. What doesn't need scrap for projects needs it for food on this world, it seems. I resolve then and there to give the sydians a wide berth.

I'm out of the ship and on the surface for three Void-damned minutes before I'm attacked. A huge, hulking sydian slithers from behind a pile of robot pieces, grins at me with his gross oil-stained mandibles, and lunges for me. I hurl a grenade at him, simultaneously leaping backwards. He stumbles through the explosion, roaring in pain and frustration, and I take the opportunity to tase him in the face. He falls on his bony, segmented ass, holding up his hands in the universal gesture for surrender. I point my taser at his head and tell him, "Next time, I'm taking your organs.", making my exit while he's staring into the middle distance with horror. 

I sit back in my chair onboard the  _Incite,_ taking a quick rest from my adventures. It turns out that raskvel get belligerent and sticky-fingered when not in the company of civilized people, but given that they have the attention spans of cocaine-addicted mayflies and the stature of human fourth-graders, besting them in combat is not really an issue. Taking my mind off the rust planet's denizens for a minute, I pull out some of the items I've recovered in my adventures. Before I set off on the rush, my father's estate gave me an injection of cutting-edge microsurgeons, tiny robots in my bloodsteam that would heal me, translate known languages, keep me healthy, and alter my physiology to handle alien substances. This meant that if I ate alien foods, my body would change to resemble the alien that was meant to eat the food, keeping me from getting sick. Mods and alterations were all the rage these days, and I had gotten these for free. Laid out on the dash before me were some raskvel dumplings, a bundle of leaves dropped by the naleen back on Mhen'ga, and four zil rations, packages of dried fruits and nuts designed for consumption by the bee-folk of the same planet as the Naleen. Time to get some upgrades.

On second thought, mods can wait until I have a vague idea of where Jill is. Pulling up the probe scan application on the Codex, I send out a detection pulse across the rust fields. It turns out that Tarkus has a natural formation called the Chasmfall, a gap between the two halves of the planet, held together by a space station called the Stellar Tether. It's heavily guarded, surrounded on the surface by dangerous junk-fields and biotech mutants, and also linked to the structural integrity of the entire planetary body. And guess where the probe's showing up? Right. I sigh, close the application, and head down to the main deck of Novahome to ask a local more about what's going on here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'll take suggestions for things like which mods Ziann's gonna take next, if that's a thing you like, so send messages or comments and I will give them a look. You can send them here or to castironbakery.tumblr.com.  
> Ziann's current inventory is:  
> ZK Rifle  
> Shock Sabre  
> Atma Armor  
> 3x Ruskvel  
> 1x Naleen Nip  
> 4x Zil Rations  
> 1x Gray Goo  
> 1x Sylvanol  
> 1x Ausar Treat  
> 2x Humana+  
> 1x Rainbotox


	6. Yet Another Ambitious Relative

I walk down the main thoroughfare of Novahome, studiously avoiding the swarming raskvel around me. Being six feet even and not having ears tat hang to my thighs, I stand out among the little lizards, but luckily there are enough rushers out here that I'm not overly mobbed. I look around for something that could help me out, spotting a disheveled-looking workshop labeled "Shekka's Widget Warehouse," and a shabby Steele Tech outpost. I head for the latter, figuring I can at least get a future-CEO discount or something.

Stepping inside the Steele Tech hut, I'm surprised to note there's another rusher in line ahead of me, seven feet of dark skin, red chitin, crimson tentacle-hair and a cluster of prehensile tails. I tap them on the shoulder. "'Scuse me, can I just--kinda--reach over and-" They turn around, revealing an all-too-familiar face. " _Archas?_ What are you doing here?" It's my half-sister Archas Steele, who I'm just realizing is on the rush as well. "Hey, Ziann. Fancy meetin' you here. I'm just shoppin' around. Gotta be equipped to get those probes, right?" I freeze. She knows about the probes. Archas laughs, obviously reading the shock on my face. "I got the same message and will and everything as you, sis. Guess Dad wanted us to tangle with each other as well as that  _sceroch_ Jill, eh?" I do my best to ignore the extremely crude Centaurin epithet. "Guess so, Archas. If you don't mind me asking, what  _happened_ to you? Last I saw you, weren't you half-leithan, grey-skinned, normal hair--basically the opposite of what's going on now?" She smiles, reaching up and running a red-armored hand through her mane of tendrils, drawing my attention to the metallic bronze horns rising from her forehead. "Great thing about this brave new world we live in, is that a substantial credit-chit and a handful a pills are all you need to change your body like a suit of clothes. I always thought I could be better, that I was stuck in a body that wasn't really me, that I wasn't shaped like I shoulda been. Now I am!" She picks up her purchase, a chunky firing tube the size of my thigh, and leaves. "See ya at the finish line, sis!" she calls over her shoulder. "Don't get eaten by a sydian!" And with that, she's gone.

I leave the outpost right after Archas, suddenly not in the mood to talk or shop. I knew Dad's bastards had to be all over the place; he really got around. But setting one up as well as me, and not even telling me about her? What the hell, Dad? I use the Codex's camera as a mirror, looking at my un-modded self. Reasonably tall, well-built but not stocky, olive skin, brown eyes, reddish-brown hair in a low ponytail. There's nothing wrong with that...right?

Right?


	7. I Hate Bugs

Cutting short the angst parade, I decide to head back to the Steele Tech post to stock up. What I'm packing now was fine for the grunts and vermin, but getting at the probe will likely call for heavier firepower. I slip down from the hangar to Novahome proper, dodging rushers and raskvel gangs as I go. Within minutes, I'm back at Steele Tech and facing the proprietor. She's a white-haired ausar woman, a head shorter than me and a cutie to boot, dressed in the circuitry-laden ST Bodysuit that was made a company standard a few years ago. Spotting me, she waves a cheery hello. "Sup, boss? Welcome to Steele Tech. I'm Anno." "You recognize me?" I ask. "Sure do! Vic sent out a company-wide memo about the quest you were on. I'm to give you a nice discount, but nothing more just yet." "Sounds good to me," I reply. "Let me see what's for sale?" Anno gestures to the holodisplay of the shop's wares. After a moment's deliberation, I select and pay for a Hammer carbine, a set of TST armor designed to be resistant to fire and electricity, and a handful of EMP grenades. "Thanks for the business, boss! Good luck out there." I wave goodbye to Anno as I head out the door. What a cute. 

I'm as far north as I can go, at the edge of the Oil Sea. A slope of rust fragments and ballast leads down to a hideous green-black expanse of glutinous liquid. Rumors around Novahome spoke of a massive creature here, although accounts differ. Some say it's a mutant sydian the size of a small starcraft, slowly eating away at the land itself. Some say it's a half-functional robot of some kind, bloated on scrap and mad with abandonment. Whatever it is, I'm gonna find it, kill it, and loot the body. The place seems even more desolate than Tarkus usually is, with none of the rattling of feeding sydians, cursing and clatter of foraging rask, or the rapid pitter-patter of lapinara dashing from place to place. After a minute or so of looking around, I hear a rapid clicking sound, one that's getting louder by the second. I draw the Hammer carbine and plant my feet, preparing for whatever it is. A massive, centipede-like creature bursts into view, gnashing mandibles the size of my legs. The other end of it is dragged into view, an oddity I was never expecting. Instead of a tail or whatever centipedes should have, the upper torso of a massive female sydian caps the monster's body. It's like a horrible insectoid chimera, and I curse under my breath when I realize that both of its pairs of eyes are focused on me.

The fight begins in earnest, and it's just my luck that the thing is far faster than it should be. It gnashes and bites at me, shooting streams of rusting acid from both sets of mandibles. I dodge and leap among the scrap-piles, plugging away with bullet and sword-slash. Finally, the centipede half opens its jaws wide, intending to engulf me whole. I hurl a grenade into its maw and leap behind a chunk of hull just in time to avoid the massive roar of detonating monstrosity. Sticking my head out beyond the boulder, I am treated to the lovely sight of gore-splattered wreckage, with something gleaming in the center. I vault over the heaps of metal and chitin and inspect it closer. It's a massive lockbox just big enough to lug back to Nova. Alright. Time to head back and see what I've found.


	8. And Now For Something Completely Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let's try POV switching! ahahahaha killme  
> Send me comments, reviews, asks at castironbakery.tumblr.com, anything, really

Your name is Archas Steele. You're on the galactic frontier, searching for the probes that will let you inherit your father's massive corporation. Unfortunately, you've just learned that in addition to your sneaky, cheating cousin Jack, you have to contend with his sister Jill  _and_ your own sister Ziann, neither of whom either you or Jack were aware of until recently. Looks like your dad and uncle were even bigger pieces of work than you had taken them for. It doesn't matter, since you'e obviously the best choice. Jack, Jill, Ziann...none of them will keep you from winning this little scavenger hunt. Your ship is better-armed, your bank account is far fatter, and you're incredibly hot to boot. All you need to do is continue on the wild success parade your adventure has almost been so far, and Steele Tech is as good as yours.

After kissing your girlfriend Natalie goodbye, you head out into the Tarkus wastelands. Your CODEX indicates that the next objective is at the Chasmfall in the center of the planet, which on this side of Tarkus is separated from you by the scything glade. This is a forest of metal trees with moving blades, essentially a landscape-sized blender for the clumsy and incautious. And unfortunately, you stand at 7'1'' and nearly a meter across at the shoulder. Cursing under your breath, you start off for the glade, mentally gauging distances and openings as you go. As you near the Chasm, you see a figure standing at the edge of the glade. As you get closer, their features come into view. Tall but still way shorter than you, decently built, auburn hair...oh void, it's Ziann. She's looking nervously at the gnashing blade-trees, working up the courage to walk in. Like the paragon of honor you are, you shout out a "Hey, Sis!" before opening fire.

\----

The scything glade rises up between me and the Chasmfall, gnashing blade-fronds stained with the blood and oil of countless rushers and Tarkans before me. There's a blade-free path leading into the heart, and the Codex tells me that the probe is on the other side. Taking a deep breath, I prepare to step forward when I hear a loud, feminine voice shout  "Hey, Sis!", splitting the still, dry air. I turn, hand on the butt of my carbine, only to see Archas standing atop a vaguely head-shaped lump of metal, rifle the size of my leg aimed at me. She gives me a broad, yet somewhat apologetic grin with her terrifying modded teeth, and opens fire, slugs of incandescent energy ripping of the ground between me and her. I run for cover, cursing like a Void pirate, and pull out my carbine and a grenade. Archas wants to play it like this, so be it. I'll beat her at her own game. 

\----

Ziann turns out to be more competent than you envisioned, peppering the landscape with slugs and microgrenades. Your Salamander rifle is illegally overclocked and charged however, letting you chew through her cover like a hot knife through cold butter. You're enjoying this far more than you should, given she's your sister. Finally, to make it more sporting, you lower the rifle and call out a challenge. "Yo, Ziann! Let's settle this hand to hand. We both know you can't out-firearm me!" You spread your arms wide, showing off the lack of guns you're holding. Ziann steps out from behind the sizzling chunk of spaceship you had been plugging away at. She's got one of those old shock-sabers, holding it like she's used it before, and often. You suppress a grin. This should be fun.

\----

I'm suspicious of Archas' offer, but I don't really have a choice. That gun of hers would bake me crispy if I let it. Besides, I'm pretty fast in a melee so I should have this covered. I step out from behind my cover, shock blade and gas grenade in hand. "Let's do this, Archas. Best bring your A-game." She gives me another one of those terrifying smiles, and unsheathes a broad, heavy longsword crackling with electricity. "I promise to bring your pieces back to Novahome when I'm done, sis." 


	9. A Disappointingly Short Transition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry guys experiencing time crunch  
> next chapter'll be a fatty to make up for it  
> E> you all  
> Z

As soon as Archas steps forward, I throw down my gas-grenade and dash into the scything glade. As I dodge and duck through the gnashing blade-fronds, I hear her scream of frustration, a horrifying, inhuman ululation. Rapid, metallic foot-falls let me know that she's giving chase. Perfect. The Stellar Tether, the space-station/giant chain that holds the halves of Tarkus together, is accessed by a station on the edge of the Fall, nestled in this very forest. Something important is there, although the Tether's shielding means that the Codex can't tell whether it's the probe or not. Either way, it's worth investigating. Not to mention the fact that if I double back, I'll almost certainly run into Archas, and that is not an option. I see the surface station dead-ahead, a lobby containing offices and a lift down to the Tether itself, and I duck inside it after looking around to make sure Archas isn't on my heels just yet. 


	10. Blood Pressure

It’s dark and silent inside the station, and I can hear mechanical clanks and screams from far, far below. The elevator is ahead, but there’s some kind of blockage in the way. As I approach, all the lights come on at once. The blockage is half a dozen drone turrets armed with rockets and heavy slugthrowers. Standing atop the largest one is a pink-furred kaithrit girl, heavily pierced and bedecked in tech-specialist gear and bits of looted military armor. Crap. I ready my weapons as she notices me, turning to me with a bright, frightening smile. “Hey! A new playmate? Sweet! Heads up though, I play rough!” She enters a command on her wrist remote and all the turrets swivel towards me.

The turret battle is short and vicious, the microrocket rounds in the turrets ripping up the lobby and walls. I chew away the armor plating on the turrets with gunfire and unload a taser round into the exposed circuitry, shorting out each drone one by one. Finally, only the cat-eared engineer is left, looking shocked that I’ve beaten her toys. She screams in indignation, “You can’t do that to Diamond Head Tam’s toys! I’ll see you pay for that! Captain Khorgan will make you pay!” She scampers towards the elevator but trips on a pool of spilled machine-oil, knocking herself out on the floor. I blink once or twice, nonplussed by the outburst. Well, that was...interesting. Captain Khorgan? That sounds like a thraggen name, so… Black Void pirates. Of course. This is gonna be fun. I shoulder my carbine and proceed to the elevator, waiting out the thirty-minute ride down to the Tether. It’s go time.

\--------

Your name is Archas Steele, and you are very angry. After your half-sister pulled that cheap-ass gas trick on you, she darted into the pointy hellforest. A pointy hellforest that you’re going to have a hell of a time navigating. Or, you would have a hell of a time navigating if you didn’t have wings. Flexing your iridescent, crystalline wings, you leap into the arid air and take off, scanning the glade for Ziann as you float overhead. The Tether station catches your attention, a broad, off-grey bunker-looking thing nestled in a clearing. You descend rapidly, armored feet making a soft dok sound as you land. This is the lobby to the elevator, and the elevator takes you straight to the core, where the Stellar Tether connects the halves of Tarkus. And thanks to your bootleg UGC feed scanner, you know that offworld law enforcement lost a gang of pirates in this very system. If they aren’t at the Tether, then you need to reevaluate your life as a space adventurer/hedonist. Drawing your Salamander rifle and powering it up, you stride into the building. It looks like a warzone in here, scorch marks, wreckage and robot bits everywhere. Ziann passed through here, no doubt, and was kind enough to disable the vanguard for you. Maybe you won’t take everything after you kick her ass and leave.

The elevator ride is half an hour long, long enough to pull out a grenade and your lightning blade, check your shielding and ammo, and smoke a heady ovir cigar. You feel like taking the bloodthirsty route with this. The door hisses open and you take in your new surroundings. The Tether is a spidery network of chambers and floors connected by catwalks and girders, surrounded by walls of crystal-studded and metal-veined stone rising above and below you farther than you can see, stars twinkling above and below. It’s a breathtaking sight, but you have more pressing things to worry about. Such as...Ziann, hiding behind a crate? You don a pair of magnetic boots for navigating the core and drop down beside her. “Sup, nerd?” She startles at your sudden appearance, but manages not to scream. “There’s more rocket pods guarding the entrance to the bridge, and there’s too many of them to sneak by!” she hisses at you. “I’m stuck here waiting for something to happen!” You ponder over the problem before coming up with a solution. “You’re something squishy like a smuggler, right?” She nods uncertainly. “I’m a mercenary. I’ll engage the pods, you sneak by.” She nods again, this time more firmly, and rolls away. You step out from behind the cover. “Come on and get me, you mechanical bastards! I’ll pick my teeth with your CPU chips!” 

\----------------

I trust Archas about as much as a papier-mache flak vest, but she’s right. I don’t have the physical fortitude to engage these things head-on. However, I do have stealth. Using the magnetic boots from the entrance, I step around and onto the underside of the bridge. Holy hell, that’s a long way down(up?). No time to freak out, though. I pick my way across, flinching every time the bridge shudders as a result of the explosive battle being waged above me. Reaching the end of the nerve-wracking journey, I step up and back onto the top of the bridge. There’s a control panel for the rocket pods, and I sink a taser round into it. If Archas hasn’t completely demolished the pods yet, this should disable the remainder. Speak of the devil and here she comes, because as soon as I but think her name she shows up next to me, twirling that terrifying lightning sword like a cheerleader’s baton. “Well that cleared my sinuses!” She says cheerfully. “It’s time to see what else is in this pit.” I nod. “We should split up. I’ll take the west path, you go north.” She nods, and we head off in separate directions. The magnetic boots from the entrance make the narrow walkways much easier to navigate, but it’s still hard on my nerves. Ahead is what looks like the center of the Tether, a tall metallic brick covered in blinking lights. I decide it’s a good time to debut my new weapon, a exotic-looking energy carbine found after the mutant sydian battle. I draw the snubnosed metallic gold rifle from my pack and check to make sure it’s ready to fire. I step into the core. Time to get to the bottom of this.


	11. Core Dance

As if you needed a reminder, your name is Archas Steele and you are ready to kick some space pirate ass. You slipped a bug into Ziann’s pack while you were deciding how to split up, and it’s sending you everything there is to know about what she’s doing. You won’t let her get killed here, but you’ll be damned if you’ll let her split with all the data and loot. This is still a free-for-all, and you will have what’s yours. And what’s hers, to boot. Revving up your Salamander Rifle, you clomp your way up to the north corner of the station.

\---------------------

The first thing I see as I enter the node is 6 feet 7 inches of bronze-skinned, bandage-and-spike-wrapped pirate woman with a ludicrously oversized gun. I smile disarmingly. “Sup? I’m the, uh, space...thing inspector, and--”

She scowls and lowers her head in an alien but clearly aggressive gesture, showing off the spiny ridges rising from her forehead. “I don’t know how you got past Tam and the Captain, but your little quest stops here. I’m Kaska Beamfury, first mate of the Tarasque, and you are the arrogant little human who got in way over her head.” She raises the gun, a two-barreled slugthrower/laser combo, and opens fire. So much for negotiation! I reach down to my belt and flip a switch there, the newest addition to my gear. The pirate snarls in frustration as I fade from view. Guy who invented the stealth field, I could kiss you. I raise the golden gun and fire. Instead of bullets or bolts of energy, a strange translucent ring pulses from the gun and hits the enemy gunner in the chest. That’s...interesting. She staggers back, breathing heavy, and she looks tired? Confused? Something like that. I shrug and fire again.

And again.

And again.

She’s on the ground, struggling weakly to get up, and there’s genuine fear in her eyes. The stealth field collapses, and she gets to look in my eyes as I fire one more time.

I tie up the unconscious pirate woman (what, you thought I killed her? rude)  and kick her gun off the edge of the walkway. I look around and my jaw drops. Is that? No, it couldn’t--Of course it is.

There is a massive three-stage fission bomb with three hours and forty-five minutes left on the timer. Crap. Searching the pirate, I find a red box studded with copper wire labelled “Kaska’s Detonator (1/2)” That’s...convenient. Now for the second detonator.

\---------------------

The north corner of the station sticks right into the rock face of the inside of the planet, and you can hear the sound of heavy machinery and mining lasers. Crossing the platform up to the little cave in the stone, you see the source of all this trouble. A green-skinned thraggen woman, easily six and a half feet tall, wrapped in a massive mining exoskeleton, is burning into the wall and extracting lumps of a shiny silver substance. Your CODEX identifies it as Platinum-180, a rare and valuable metal. A perfect target for pirates. You fire at the robot’s back, because honor is for people that enjoy dying and losing a lot. Your shot pierces the shielding immediately, and the pirate spins around. “WHAT THE HELL?” You wince at the electronically amplified screech of her voice. “ANOTHER DO-GOODER? YOU MUST BE THE ONE THAT SCREWED UP TAM’S SENTRIES. EH, NOTHING I CAN’T HANDLE. GET READY TO REGRET YOUR CHOICES, MAGGOT!” The industrial mining lasers on the machine’s hands power up, and she settles the hulk into a combat stance. You grin and rev up your rifle. Finally, a challenge.

The thraggen fights with a ferocious recklessness that you can admire, throwing around those three tons of exosuit and dousing the area in plasma charges. You’re both laughing and snarling, ripping viciously at each other, filling the cave with fire and lightning. You decide to up the ante by slipping a detonation charge into the exosuit’s torso, which sends the entire thing crashing to the floor. The pirate emerges from the wreckage, face alight with battle fury. “You fight well, maggot. I figure you should know who’s gonna kill ya. I’m Captain Khorgan Brytheck of the Tarasque, and once I’ve taught you some manners I’ll be taking you as well as the Plat-180. I’ve been looking for a new toy! En guarde, maggot!” With this last, she lunges for you, three feet of hardlight cutlass you didn’t see her draw materializing in her hand.

\-----------------------

I inspect the bomb carefully, studying the casing, detonator, and payload. Looks like I need the other detonator to deactivate the thing. I’m about to leave in search of it when I hear a whirr from behind me. I turn to see the kaithrit engineer from the entryway, standing behind a quadruped attack drone painted to look like a Doberman. “I told you! Nobody messes with Tam! Get ‘er, Tam-wolf!” The drone lets out a synthesized snarl and leaps for my throat. I reach up and tase the thing right in its open, snarling mouth, and then proceed to stomp on it repeatedly. I am so sick of this girl and her stupid robots. She looks aghast, and turns for the door, giving me a prime opportunity to hit her with my fancy new exhaustion rifle. I shackle the unconscious catgirl to Kaska, pause, and then reshackle them so they look like they’re picking each other’s noses. Perfect. There are sounds of mayhem and carnage from the north, so I’m just gonna wait here for the victor to stroll out.

\------------------

 **  
** You cross blades with the captain repeatedly, doing a deadly dance in the very core of the planet over the wreckage of her mining exosuit. Your sword is electrified and designed to sap energy, but her blade has a solid-light blade that makes that impossible. Regardless, you’re driving her back bit by bit, ripping off pieces of her suit and opening thin cuts in her green, tattooed flesh. She laughs madly, seeming to get more excited the more you hurt her. “You’ve got balls, maggot! I’ll almost be sad to see you DIE!” On the last word, she brings her sword down in a vicious two-handed blow, one that you sidestep. Not expecting you to dodge so quickly, she stumbles, trips, and falls onto her ass. You draw and aim your rifle just as she starts to stand. “Don’t even think about it, green jeans.” She looks like she’s about to say something, then she just nods. You shackle her in an uncomfortable position near her suit, and look around for loot. There’s a red box covered in copper wiring labeled “CKD2/2”, as well as a hefty chunk of Plat-180. You pocket both, blow Khorgan a kiss, and head out to find Ziann.

**Author's Note:**

> are you proud of me, father


End file.
